Zanatta named to U-20 team

Hearts-signed striker Dario Zanatta of Victoria, touted as a potential future scoring threat for the senior Canadian national team, continued his rise by being named to the U-20 national soccer team.

The 19-year-old Gorge FC and Lower Island Metro product is on loan from Hearts of the Scottish Premiership to Queen’s Park FC in Scottish League 1.

Zanatta, among players from clubs in 10 countries named to the Canadian team, has scored once in five appearances to date for Canada in U-20.

Canada will play in the 12-team CONCACAF qualifier Feb. 17 to March 5 in San Jose, Costa Rica, for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Canada plays Honduras on Feb. 17, Mexico on Feb. 20 and Antigua and Barbuda on Feb. 23 in an arduous pool out of which only two teams will advance to the playoff rounds.

“These are the tests you want for your players [because] you want to expose them to tough matches so they can learn as they develop towards the men’s national team,” said Canadian U-20 head coach Rob Gale, in a statement.

Four teams will advance out of CONCACAF for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup from May 20 to June 11 in South Korea.

“If it wasn’t for all the great coaches I had, starting at a young age playing for Gorge F.C. and Lower Island Metro, I know none of this could have happened,” said Zanatta, when he signed his original two-year deal with Hearts in 2015.